Other Desert Cities User’s Guide

Audio Damage, Inc.

Release 1.0

15 August 2021

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Audio Damage, Inc. The software

Chris Randall

Adam Schabtach

Field Testing

Eric Bean

Stephen Boyd

Steve Hamann

Matthew Lyon

Jeff Laity

Michael Southard

Chris Randall

Matthew Lyon

Red Means Recording

Made Possible By

Elle

Tracie

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Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Other Desert Cities, our multiple-mode delay-based effects plugin. Rather than following the main thoroughfare of delay plugins

intended to obsessively recreate hardware units long since passed, Other Desert Cities takes you down less-traveled roads. We visited a number of

contemporary effects, both hardware and software, while seeking inspiration. The result is half a dozen different processing modes, which—like the cities of

Arizona whose names they bear—have both common characteristics as well as individual charms. In addition, like heat rising from a long, flat highway, a

diffusion processor creates shimmer and blur. Finally, a flexible modulation system adds curves and bumps.

We had a great deal of fun creating Other Desert Cities and hope that you enjoy exploring its possibilities. Happy travels!

Windows

8.1 x64

VST2, VST3 and AAX, 64-bit

To use Other Desert Cities, you’ll need a host application such as Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, Apple Logic, Avid ProTools, etc

familiar with using plugins with your host. If you have general questions about using plugins with your host, please refer to its documentation.

The iOS versions of Other Desert Cities require an iPad; newer models will provide better performance.

Demonstration Version

We encourage you to download and try the demonstration version of Other Desert Cities before purchasing it. The demo version of Other Desert Cities is the

Overview

In brief, Other Desert Cities is comprised of two delay lines, a diffusion processor, and a variety of signal-routing and gain controls. The delay lines operate

together in one of six algorithms

, or modes of operation. These algorithms provide six different personalities, ranging from a basic stereo delay to oddities

with variable speed and direction. The diffusion processor’s effect ranges from subtle blurring and smearing to reverb-like washes. A pair of low-frequency

oscillators and an envelope follower serve as modulation sources for adding periodic changes and signal-responsive dynamic effects.

For brevity in this document, we’ll often abbreviate Other Desert Cities as ODC.

Common Controls

There are four knobs with associated switches that are always visible in ODC's window, regardless of which central pane is active. These four are the knobs

you'll use most often when dialing in the effect you're after. They are:

ODC's window has a central area or pane which displays three different groups of controls, one group at a time. These groups are:

Switch between these three panes by clicking one of the three small icons to the left of the pane.

The Time 1 and Time 2 knobs at the left of the plugin's window set the length of the two delay lines. Many of ODC's algorithms have other controls which affect

the delay time, but the Time 1/2 knobs are your first stop for setting the initial delay setting. Their value is expressed in seconds, shown below each knob.

The maximum time is two seconds.

as “a precise, describable process which acts upon or modifies inputs in a specific manner.” In the context of Other Desert Cities, it means mode of operation or way of messing

around with audio.

The clock-shaped sync switches to the right of either knob cause the delay times to synchronize to the tempo setting of your host DAW.

sound recirculate through the delays, gradually fading out. Turning the Regen knob fully clockwise makes the sound repeat more or less indefinitely, although

many algorithms will change the sound substantially as time goes by and the signals recirculate through the delay processor. The percentage indicator below

repeating with less change and more stability than setting the Regen knob to 100%.

The Mix knob sets the mixture of the original signal entering the plugin (the "dry" signal) and the signal generated by the plugin's

delays, filters, etc. (the "wet" signal). At a fully anti-clockwise setting, you'll hear only the dry signal. At the opposite extreme, you'll

hear only the wet signal. Intermediate settings give you a proportional mix of the two signals; at the center position you get equal

amounts of both. The Mix setting is shown as a percentage of the wet signal below the knob. Use a setting of 100% if you're using the

plugin as a send effect, and something around 50% if you're using it as a channel-insert effect. The signal mixture is also affected by the

Wet Balance knob described below.

If you turn on the lock switch to the left of the Mix knob, the mix setting won't change when you load presets. The mix setting is always

stored in presets but is retrieved only when the Lock switch is off.

Diffuser Pane

Delay time and Diffusion knobs are turned to a fairly high value, the diffuser will sound somewhat like a reverb processor.

The Size knob interacts with the Depth knob in the sense that at longer delay times the modulation LFOs change the delays over longer time intervals. In

other words, the effect of the LFO modulation will be more audibly apparent at higher settings of the Size knob.

The Diffusion knob controls how much the diffuser softens or smears the audio passing through it. If this knob is rotated fully anti-clockwise, the diffuser is a

collection of short delays and will produce an effect similar to a simple chorus processor. Rotating the knob clockwise increases the amount that the diffuser

smears the audio.

The Lo-Cut knob engages a high-pass filter at the diffuser's input, removing low frequencies. Turn this switch on to reduce muddy build-up or rumbling,

particularly when you have the global Regen knob turned up.

The Mod Rate knob sets the speed with which the filters are modulated (changed) by the diffuser's low-frequency oscillators (LFOs). As you rotate this knob

clockwise the modulation rate increases. At low rates—within the first half of the knob’s rotation—the modulation is usually not noticeable and serves to

prevent the diffusion network from resonating and ringing. At higher settings, particularly if the Depth knob is also turned up above 50%, you'll hear unusual

The Mod Depth knob determines how much the delays within the diffuser are modulated. If this knob is rotated fully anti-clockwise, the delays are not

The meters to the right of these controls show you the relative levels of the signals after they're altered by the controls.

at their left and right extremes respectively for normal stereo operation or modulate them with an LFO for moving delay effects.

Mirage - Multi-Head

backwards if the cylinder spun in the opposite direction. Coupled with a tape deck that could play at any speed, the Eltro was capable of playing audio faster

or slower than the original without changing its pitch, or changing its pitch without changing its speed. Nowadays we take this sort of manipulation of audio

for granted, but in 1967 digital audio processing was not yet possible and the Eltro was a technological marvel. There is an excellent description of it at this

website: http://www.wendycarlos.com/other/Eltro-1967/index.html

Note that the description "multi-head" refers to the four rotating heads in the Eltro, a system different than tape echo devices (e.g. the Maestro Echoplex)

Because of the unusual configuration of this algorithm, the Delay Times are not available as modulation targets and don't respond well to parameter

automation.

The Speed knob changes the speed and direction at which the playback heads move. It has a range of -2 to +2. The default setting of 1.0 plays the audio at

the same rate and direction as it was recorded. Speeds greater than one play it faster, speeds less than one play it slower. Negative values play it backwards.

The four selector switches to the right of the Speed knob cause the speed to jump between fixed values corresponding to musical intervals. For instance,

-0.25x (down two octaves and backwards), etc. The Fifth and Semitone switches confine the speeds to the corresponding intervals; the Fifth setting also

includes octaves.

Note that these speed-quantization buttons affect modulation signals also.

The Respeed switch changes how audio is fed back through the buffers when the global Regen knob is turned up. If Respeed is on, the variable-speed

playback signal is used for feedback, so the audio will repeatedly move upwards or downwards in pitch each time it plays. If Respeed is off, or if the global

Loop switch is on, an unaltered copy of the audio in the buffer is fed back and each repetition of the sound will play at the speed set by the Speed knobs.

The Heads knob adjusts the levels of the signals from the four playback heads. You can think of it as a rotary switch which turns on from one to four of the

heads as you rotate it. The original hardware had no such control at all; all four heads always had full gain but only two heads came into contact with the